Does a person’s interest in the arts impact their contribution to society?

Since interest and achievement in the arts often runs in families and is considered an inherited talent, we thought it might be an relevant topic for our readers.

An interesting study from the University of Illinois (Chicago), looked at the relationships between those who sing, dance, draw or act – and concluded that those who do have an altruistic streak.

Altruistic behavior, as measured by the researchers, was determined by answers to such questions by participants as whether they had allowed a stranger to go ahead of them in line, carried a stranger’s belongings, donated blood, given directions to a stranger, lent someone an item of value, returned money to a cashier who had returned too much change, or looked after a neighbor’s pets, plants or mail.